As Clorox turns 100, looking at the Oakland company’s executive pay

All numbers are for closing prices on/around the company anniversary date with the exception of the high and low numbers.

Best known for its red, white and blue bottle, Clorox has been the standard “clean scent” for many Americans for over a century. Since its very beginning, when five entrepreneurs each invested $100 to set up the first commercial-scale bleach factory in the United States, the company has kept a low profile when it comes to executive pay, although its compensation package for Chief Executive Officer Donald Knauss is similar to those of other Fortune 500 companies.

Executive pay and compensation have been the subject of much media examination, creating headlines that have put some of the country’s most powerful companies under intense scrutiny from consumers, stockholders and corporate good governance activists. Executive pay encompasses the total financial compensation received by company executives. It can include a mixture of cash salary, bonuses and shares of stock in the company.

In recent years, executive pay has risen dramatically compared to the average American worker’s wage, which was about $34,645 in 2012. According to Clorox’s latest proxy statement, Knauss received $11,458,389 in total compensation in 2012 – that’s 331 times the average worker’s pay. Some investment banking firms award their CEOs much higher salaries, as much as 500 times the average worker’s pay.

(After multiple requests for comment sent by phone and email, a Clorox representative said that company members were unavailable to comment on Knauss’ compensation.)